JW: FBI Labeled al-Aulaqi 'Dangerous Terrorist' Day Before He Spoke at Pentagon

On July 2, Judicial Watch announced it obtained documents showing the FBI labeled U.S.-born Anwar al-Aulaqi a “dangerous terrorist” and warned agents to “approach with caution” on February 4, 2002–the very day before al-Aulaqi spoke at a Pentagon luncheon.

The declassified documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit as part of Judicial Watch’s ongoing efforts to understand “the unique relationship between the terrorist leader and our own government.”

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Through the documents, Judicial Watch learned the FBI first began investigating al-Aulaqi’s ties to terrorism in 1999. The documents contained notes from an FBI Special Surveillance Group showing they had followed al-Aulaqi to class at George Washington University and monitored a meeting he attended at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, among other things.

Judicial Watch also learned that funds for al-Aulaqi’s doctoral studies, healthcare, and room and board were sponsored by “the World Bank Community College Project in Yemen.”

The documents showed that al-Aulaqi spent thousands on prostitutes in the D.C. area between November 5, 2001 and February 4, 2002. Then he spoke at a Pentagon luncheon on the topics of “Islam and Middle Eastern Politics and Culture” on February 5 after a Department of Defense attorney heard him speak elsewhere and was impressed with his knowledge and ability to communicate.

When al-Aulaqi and another “American-born militant” were killed by a U.S. drone strike in September 2011, Fox News described it as “the highest-profile take down of terror leaders since the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.”

The questions are: Why did it take so long to get him and how was he ever allowed to step foot in the Pentagon? Judicial Watch is pursuing answers to these questions.